Mythical Creatures Challenge at PCJ

My goodness, seems like forever and a day since my last post! Computer problems had me offline for quite a while and things have been a bit crazy the last two weeks trying to get caught up with hundreds of emails and more than 3000 Followed posts. I gave up on that last item. LOL Since I hadn't been able to print my digi stamps for my DT cards, I've spent my free time this past week getting some coloring done. Next week my schedule will open back up again and I'll be 'round to visit my crafty friends.

For today, it's a midchallenge post for Paper-Crafting Journey! One more week left in our Mythical Creatures challenge. Fairies, elves, unicorns, dragons... and the winner will receive 5 images from our challenge sponsor, Digi Stamps 4 Joy.

I used this lovely fairy image...

I colored my imge with Copics except for the wings which I did with a beautiful pearlized watercolor paint from Yasutomo.  Lovely sheen. The colors are a lot more intense in real life than this photo. (still more work to do with practicing camera settings! Sigh.).  I am still challenged by getting the flicking just right, but I enjoyed coloring her hair. =) I've been coming back to this very mermaid-y color combination of ocean blue, blue-green and purple for a lot of crafting this summer. Guess I needed to get it out of my system now that it's Fall and time for rich harvest colors. LOL My card layout is super-simple, focusing on the image. Since I spent this week getting back into the coloring groove, the cards themselves are mostly white on white with the color pop of the image. I used the Copics to perfectly color match the layers to my image and added some flat-backed pearls. Simple, simple!

My Teamies did some really gorgeous work... head on over and check them all out on the Paper-Crafting Journey blog! 

Will be round to visit soon and will see you all back here on Saturday! Til then, happy crafting!
Christy

Anything Goes for Kids @ SAS4K: Saturated Canary Violet

Happy Saturday! We made it to the weekend - woot! woot! 

It's Send A Smile 4 Kids challenge day and another end-of-summer easy-peasy challenge for you... Anything Goes!  This challenge is also a bit special as we say goodbye and best wishes to teamie Shelby who is moving on to other adventures. Her fun style and super coloring will be missed... but we do have a new teamie waiting in the wings for her debut coming up soon! =) Our sponsors for this challenge are Robyns Fetish (5 digis to the winner) and Saturated Canary (2 digis for our second winner) and the DT had the difficult decision of picking which image to color up for today's DT post. That was a challenge in itself! LOL

I finally landed on Violet... and to be honest, I had intended to go with some lovely violet Copic colors, but when I was riffling through my papers, this pink and blue-green combination from the Glam Gal DCWV stack caught my eye. So violet is now dressed  pink and blue-green! =)

Oops, bit wonky, that photo.... LOL

I colored Violet with my Copics.. the BG70 series was a little too dark and cold than I needed so I ended up using a technique of scribbling BG11 and BG13 onto an acrylic block and then picking up those colors with my BG70 and BG72 markers to get a brighter blue-green that matched my background papers. Her hair's a bit of a mess... got a little carried away trying to get the streaky look I wanted. Too much fun flicking and feathering! LOL If you squint your eyes while looking at the card though, it looks pretty good. LOL I added Viva Decor pen pearly dots in silver (on the skirt) and opal everywhere else.

I added a nice coating of Crystal Stickles with its green and yellowy-pink glitter for her underskirt and the rosette in her hair and bit of Stardust Stickles on the second rosette that I printed and cut out for the top corner of the card. The heart border is an older Martha Stewart punch. I used a bit of pink grosgrain ribbon to cover the seam and added three of the punched out hearts with a dot of the pearl pen to the bottom corner.

So now it's your turn... read up on all the challenge details and see the super cards for kids my teamies have created over on the Send A Smile 4 Kids challenge blog, then go get creative! Can't wait to see what you come up with! =)

Til my next post, happy crafting!
Christy

Card Mania Challenges: Anything Goes - A Sassy Graduation

Sometimes it amazes me how crafting can bring together people from all over the whole wide world. I was a college student in the 1990s when chatrooms first became popular. Back then they were so much more friendly and spambots hadn't really been invented yet. You had the occasional jerk (we didn't yet call them trolls) or a 12-year-old pretending to be an adult and insulting people just because he could... but mostly they were a lot of fun. I particularly loved and spent most of my chat time in a chatroom ruled by the Kiwis and Ozzies (New Zealanders and Australians). I loved being able to talk to people on the other side of the Earth and as there were a good number of regulars, it was like hanging out at your favorite pub, except without beer, drunken crowds or smokers. LOL Finding the online crafting community has been much like falling back into those years... a warm and friendly sort of family and spread across the globe! So imagine my glee when, a few weeks ago, a delightful crafty blogger named Ani from Bulgaria sent me an email and asked me to be part of a new biweekly challenge blog! My first reaction? Someone in BULGARIA is looking at MY cards?! Who would have thought it possible 20 years ago? I was very honored and couldn't pass up the opportunity to get to play with my new group of talented teamies who are also mostly from Bulgaria. I'm not sure I'll learn any Bulgarian, but it looks to be a fun new adventure! My first step was learning the quickest way to turn on my Google Bar Translate function! LOL

So, today is our very first challenge, and we open with an easy one... Anything Goes! You can read up on all the challenge details on the Card Mania Challenges Blog.  Our challenges will be sponsored by the Bulgarian online craft shop, Naborsata, who are also opening their first showroom today in Sofia. You can check them out here! We'll also have a prize each challenge offered by a second sponsor... and for this challenge we have Sassy Studio Designs who generously provided the DT with lots of very sassy images to work with.

I had a difficult time choosing which image and what kind of card to create... I finally decided to go simple and let the image do all the work. I chose this lovely graduate...

One sassy graduate! That hair, those lips, that pose, those BOOTS! LOL

I colored her with my Copics and added a little metallic gold using a gel pen to the medallion on the diploma, her tassel and the buttons on her boots. Although I kept the layout so simple, I went with pearlized papers so the gold oval and the pearly white have a gorgeous sheen to them in person. I tried to capture some of that sheen in these photos, which also show that I've fussy cut my image and popped her up on foam dots. A few black and red flat-backed pearls and the red ribbon are my only embellishments. Even my sentiment is hidden inside!

My teamies have come up with some really gorgeous work so I hope you can stop by to see them all at the Card Mania Challenges Blog. Get crafty and come join in the fun with

Ani

Addii

Delyana

Dilyana

Goldie

Iva

Louise

Mila

Miss Emerald

Paulina

Sue

Tracy

Vili

and me!

Until next time... happy crafting! =)

Christy

PCJ-Papelitos Stamp Collab Challenge: Birthdays... and Purple Hair

Greetings, my bloggy and so-super-crafty friends!

The DT at Paper-Crafting Journey was worried that the uber-prolific crafters among you might get a little bored waiting around for our current Anything Goes challenge (running until September 12) to end, so our fearless leader Wendy arranged for a special two-week collaboration challenge with Papelitos Stamps' Challenge blog to keep you busy! OK, just kidding... well, about the DT being worried. The rest? Too true! Our theme for the special challenge is Birthday/Celebrations and you can read up on all the details here at Paper-Crafting Journey. As a twist due to the collaboration, you have to enter your card at both the PCJ and Papelitos Stamps Challenge blogs, but a double chance to win some great Papelitos images is worth a few extra moments to link up to both blogs, dontcha think? =)

For my card, I chose the image Lilian because as soon as I saw her, I saw her hair in all sorts of colors. I have been itching to try out funky hair colors and I actually think I did a better job with these purple Copics colors than I have with the more traditional blondes, brunettes and blacks. Here... judge for yourself:

I had a problem getting a good photo (migraine on Sunday left my vision a bit wacky) but I love the in-real-life colors... these BV and B Copics are some of the new Copics I picked up several weeks ago during a big sale ($4.49 and free shipping is definitely my kind of sale) and I am enjoying experimenting with new colors! =) I also added something else new... Viva Decor pen pearl dots around my image. I think I went a little overboard, but will be experimenting with those again, too! =)

I didn't quite get the effect I was going for on her face --- I should have studied Lisa's cards for nose shadows LOL --- but I think I got the feminine (if not traditional) look I wanted. I love these K&Co papers too. But why do they always make such great papers double-sided?! So hard to cut into them and "waste" one paper to use the other! LOL I added some Wild Orchid Crafts flowers in various colors I pulled from the K&Co papers. I accidentally glued down one of the smaller roses in the wrong place and couldn't get it off without ripping the papers, so I don't have the straighter vertical line I had in mind, but I love how the flowers pull all the colors together. I have been a little anti-sentiment lately, so I saved the "Happy Birthday" for the inside of my card. Which, now that I realize, I never photographed... so you'll have to imagine it. LOL

Some of my other teamies also joined in this special challenge with some fabulous birthday cards... be sure to check them out here!  Hope you can join us and Papelitos Stamps!

And.... don't forget our Anything Goes challenge is open until September 12th! Wendy upped the limit to 6 entries (from our usual 3) so there's plenty of time and plenty of opportunity to link up!

Happy crafting!
Christy

For the Girls @ SAS4K: A Sassy Cheryl Sweet Birthday

Happy Saturday, my bloggy friends!

Thank you for the sweet words about Spencer. I'm getting adjusted to him being gone, although every so often I think I hear him meowing to come in before I realize it can't possibly be. My older dog 'Liss has taken Spencer's old space in the craft room... lying over one of my feet. A 12-pound cat was one thing; the 70-pound dog is another. LOL For the most part, I'm just imagining that if there's a kitty afterlife, he is busy enjoying stalking through the grass after the most delicious bunnies ever in between afternoon snoozes spent curled up in a warm patch of sunshine, and there is probably a loving caretaker there somewhere to give him a good cuddle, a belly rub and scratch around the ears when he wants it. 

So it's time again for another challenge at Send A Smile 4 Kids... this time it's FOR THE GIRLS! and sponsored by  Mayzy Art (8 digis of the winner's choice... wow, 8!), Sassy Cheryl ($5 gift certificate) and SCACD (gift certificate).  Time to get all girly... whether that means pink and frilly or princess goth or sporty tomboy to you... any child- or teen-friendly card for a girl!

One of the delightful images the DT received to play with was this cutie from Sassy Cheryl, Sassy Sally's Big Cupcake and I took the most obvious route of a Sweet Birthday card  =)

I wanted to go colorful, and I knew exactly what set of papers I wanted to use - Summertime Designs Sweet Cakes kit by Summer Driggs.

Sooooooo yummy! I've used this set to make a number of birthday and party banners as it's so colorful and fun - it looks like a sweet celebration!

I colored my image with Copics, giving her an extra rosy cheek. I mean, hey, a cupcake that size? She's obviously flushed with utter excitement... or the anticipation of the biggest sugar rush EVER! LOL I added a nice coating of Frosted Lace Stickles with a touch of Distress Stickles in Tumbled Glass over the blue shadows in the cupcake icing and topped it with a frosted cherry red gem. I used Copics to make the perfect shades of cardstock layers and ran a pink Copic along the edge of my sentiment, which was printed up from Word. With so much color and pattern, I just added a few red holographic glitter dots to the corners for a little extra sparkle.

I worked with a Mayzy image too, but my camera and I are having a serious disagreement over what my card should look like in a photo, so I'll be posting that later once I convince my camera that if it wants to stay in one piece, it will see things my way. >=[

My teamies have crafted some of the sweetest girly cards and you can see them on today's challenge post at Send A Smile 4 Kids. Hope you can join us with some creations of your own! =)

I'm off to have one more good romp outside with the dogs before the light goes. Will be back soon with some more crafty creations and a bit of crafty news! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and...

happy crafting!

Christy

PCJ DT Card: Anything Goes - Shawna

[Edited to add:  Lesson for today: Make sure you use the right date when pre-scheduling a blog post!]

Greetings, my bloggy friends...

Sorry to have been quiet this week, but I've been a bit of a mess the past few days. I've had to put my cat Spencer to sleep. It was unexpected and a bit of a shock and, well, I don't apologize for being in love with that little bundle of fur. He was 9 and an indoor-outdoor cat, so I know he enjoyed his 9 lives to the fullest, but it doesn't make the selfish I-wanted-more-time feelings go away. Sigh.

I am glad the weekend is coming... I will probably spend lots of quality time with the puppies and lots of quality time with some Copics, papers, scissors and glue this weekend. Thank goodness for crafting!

So... on to my card today... Paper-Crafting Journey is running a SIX-week challenge this time 'round. I think it was supposed to be a bit of vacation for the DT, but we'll be running a special additional challenge in a couple weeks, so stay tuned. LOL  In the meantime, you have six lovely weeks to join us for an easy-peasy ANYTHING GOES! Paper crafts of all types, colors, and purposes... and we will have two winners! We are sponsored by the quirky and fun Mayzy Art Digital Stamp Designs who is generously offering three digis of the winner's choice to TWO of our participants for this challenge.

Mayzy also provided the DT with some images and I fell in love with Shawna with Latte... and before you say it, yes, I know... another Christmas/winter holiday card with snowflakes. What can I say - I love winter and Christmas cards! LOL

I love that blowing in the wind hair and scarf and I knew exactly what layout I wanted as soon as I saw her. These delicious papers are from a paper pad I won from Delphine last year and have been hoarding for just the right images and the colors in real life are a bit darker than this photo. I enlarged the digi (this card is 5x7) and cut the image just below that great belt before coloring her up with some newly acquired Copics colors that go so well with the muted blue-greens and warm grey-browns of this paper. I added a little gold metallic pen over the belt's hardware and the scarf tips and used liquid pearls on the flower adorning her beret. I had a few difficulties with her hair (still hair-challenged! LOL) and had to darken it up to fix a coloring boo-boo. I didn't bin her, but I came awfully close. I definitely will color her up again sometime, and she'll make a terrific practice image. (ooooh, the P word!)

I distressed the edges of the dp with scissors and paired it with kraft cardstock that I inked with Walnut DI and spritzed with the tiniest bit of water mixed with Perfect Pearls for a hint of glimmer. The top kraft panel is distressed... I kept the edges of my card base sharp but inked both. I popped the panel up on foam dots over a ribbon colored with Copics to match her beret and then popped Shawna up as well to get lots of the dimension I am addicted to (perhaps I should buy stock in a foam dot company! haha). I added some kraft cardstock snowflakes using a couple of Martha Stewart punches and inked those as well. They were inspired recently by this card from Katarina, whose cardmaking style I adore, and so many of Pop's cards as she uses kraft often for her base and punched/die cut embellishments. The pearl centers were a little bright, so I sponged over them with the Walnut Ink and wiped it off so they have just a bit of an aged color that ties in better.

A few little pearls in a couple of corners and done! I debated adding more embellishments,  but although I love some of the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink, layer-upon-layer cards that are a smorgasbord for the eyes, I seem to stick more successfully to a relatively CAS style.

My teamies have done some crafty masterpieces of their own, so be sure to check them out over at Paper-Crafting Journey and join in the fun! This one is too easy NOT to join in!

So that's it from me until Saturday, when I will be back with two cards for Send A Smile 4 Kids! Til then...

Happy Crafting!
Christy

Oops, almost forgot.... just a few Challenges and Link-ups...

Bearly Mine - #46 Anything Goes
The Stamping Boutique - #44 Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps - #35 Christmas in July
Lexi's Creations - #70 Christmas in July
Paper Playtime - #80 Anything Goes
Make It Monday - Week 100
Wishcraft's Waste Not Wednesdays - Week #28
4 Crafty Chicks - Distressing
Cute Card Thursday - #228 Clean and Simple

Santa hands out some cash! =)

Well, today's the day! Santa dropped by and used random.org to pick out some lucky crafters for my Christmas in July Cash candy drawing! He's so excited... all the new CHA products and the Christmas stamps that are coming out now (oh my aching wallet - LOTV's Christmas release this week was IMPOSSIBLE to resist! Seriously, best one yet!)... well, it's just a fantastic time to be a crafter!  (Ok, if you're a Christmas fanatic crafter, that is. heh heh)

First, a big THANK YOU to all of my new Followers! I didn't expect that many people to come wandering through from all over the globe! My favorite thing about blogging our craft is that it is a worldwide community and there are so many talented people in every corner! It's a great experience and I sincerely thank you all, Followers new and old, for voluntarily choosing to share it with me! I hope that I live up to your crafty expectations! =)

I wish I could give something to all of you, but since I haven't won the Lotto yet, I have to be a bit more realistic. LOL 

So, no more blathering about.... I know what you came for...  LOL Here are the winners Santa and random.org picked...

For the Original Followers prize of $40/25GBP/30EUR, the winner is.....

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ZIPPY from Zippy's Zone! 

For my All Followers, Old and New prize of $25/15GBP/20EUR, the winner is.....

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RHONDA from Realm of Rhonda Sue!

For my Anyone prize of $15/10GBP/13EUR, the winner is......

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DONNA from Designs by MeMe!

And because I'm a sucker for Christmas, a BONUS draw from the All Followers group, with a prize of  $15/10GBP/13EUR, the winner is......

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 KAREN from Karen's Kreative Kards!

YAY! Congratulations to all of you! I'll also be sending each of you an email, but just in case I get spam filtered, you can find my email on my Blogger profile! =)  Hope you enjoy your prizes!

Happy Crafting to one and all!
Christy